Sweden’s Jörgen Persson, 42 years old, is the player to make the
most notable strides in the higher echelons of the Men’s World Rankings
published by the International Table Tennis Federation on Wednesday 3rd
September 2008.
At No. 34 prior to the Olympic Games, he now stands at No. 19.
The
higher ranking follows his momentous effort in reaching the semi-final
of the Men’s Singles event at the recent Olympics in the futuristic
setting of the Peking University Gymnasium in the Beijing suburb of
Haidian.
First Time in Four Years
It
is the first time in four years that the veteran Swede has gained a top
20 place; coincidentally, the last occasion was in September 2004.
On the Men’s World Rankings published after the Athens Olympic Games, Jörgen Persson was ranked No.19!
Zoran Primorac Climbs
Progress
for Jörgen Persson, who was competing in his sixth Olympic Games and
also progress for Croatia’s Zoran Primorac, the man Persson beat in the
quarter-finals in Beijing and like the Swede has competed in every
Olympic Games since table tennis made its debut in the multi sport
event in 1988.
Zoran Primorac advances eight places to No.25.
More Croatian Joy
A
higher ranking for one Croatian and also for another; Tan Ruiwu, who at
the Opening Ceremony in Beijing, entered the stadium on the shoulders
of Zoran Primorac; in the Peking University Gymnasium he also rose to
new heights.
In the team event he proved invaluable, whilst in
the Men’s Singles he defeated both Singapore’s Gao Ning and Hong Kong
China’s Li Ching to reach the quarter-finals before Wang Liqin halted
further adventures.
Austrians Advance
Positives
for Croatia and also for Austria; Chen Weixing moves from No.31 to
No.26, whilst Robert Gardos, one of the few bright lights for Europe at
the Beijing Olympics, progresses from No.47 to No.38.
It is the
first time in his career that Gardos has gained a top 40 ranking and
follows notable wins in the Beijing Olympics over Greece’s Kalinikos
Kreanga, Japan’s Kan Yo and Korea’s Ryu Seung Min.
Korean Returns to Top Ten
Also,
making progress on the male list is Ryu Seung Min’s colleague Oh Sang
Eun, the conqueror of Germany’s Timo Boll in the Men’s Singles event in
Beijing and the one player to threaten the Chinese.
An
enforced lay off from November 2007 to April 2008 owing to a shoulder
injury followed by a series of disappointing results on the ITTF Pro
Tour saw the man from Seoul drop down the rankings.
However, consistent performances and no unexpected defeats in Beijing mean that Oh Sang Eun moves from No.15 to No.10.
Higher Rankings for Hong Kong China and Singapore
Good news for Oh Sang Eun and also good news for Hong Kong China’s Ko Lai Chak and Singapore’s Yang Zi.
Ko
Lai Chak, who ended the Olympic reign of Ryu Seung Min before defeating
Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov in Beijing progresses from No.32 to No.21,
whilst Yang Zi, the conqueror of Chuan Chih-Yuan in the Peking
University Gymnasium, now stands at No.29 having previously occupied
the No.35 spot.
Suffering
Higher
places for some players means that there are those who suffer, the most
notable in the top 50 of the Men’s World Rankings being Chinese
Taipei’s Chiang Peng-Lung and Belgium’s Jean-Michel Saive.
The former falls from No.30 to No.25, the latter from No.35 to No.26.
Few Changes
Changes
outside the top 12 places on the men’s list but few inside; apart from
Oh Sang Eun the only other changes involve China’s Chen Qi and Timo
Boll who change places, Chen Qi is now at No.6 with the German at No.7
whilst Chuan Chih-Yuan falls from No.10 to No.13.
The top five
remain the same with Wang Hao at No.1 followed by his Chinese National
Team compatriots Ma Lin, Ma Long and Wang Liqin; Vladimir Samsonov of
Belarus retains his No.5 berth whilst the Koreans Ryu Seung Min and Joo
Se Hyuk are at No.8 and No.9 respectively ahead of compatriot Oh Sang
Eun. Hong Kong China’s Li Ching is at No.11 with Singapore’s Gao Ning
at No.12.
No Change
Meanwhile, in the Under 21 Men’s Rankings and Under 18 Boys’ Rankings, the leading positions remain the same.
Ma
Long, Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Japan’s Jun Mizutani are the top three
ranked players in the Under 21 list whilst in the Under 18 list the
respective leading positions are occupied by Japan’s Kenta Matsudaira,
Singapore’s Ma Liang and China’s Xu Xin.
Source: www.ittf.com
